Draft-gear.



unirsi) sTATns vPATENT ferries.

JAMES It. CABDWELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO UNION DRAFT GEARCOM- PANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION F ILLINOIS.

. DRAFT-GEAR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 13, 1918.

Application filed July 3, 1914. Serial No. 848,743.

a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chicago, county of Cook,and State of,

. through the frictional engagement of various movable elements, held inynormal relation and supplemented in their action by springs. Thesprings are carried by a transverse rod passing through a plurality offriction elements of the gear. Two of these elements constituteabutnients for the springs, which are mounted upon the end portions ofthe rods, such elements having both longitudinal and lateral movement.An .intermediate frictional element, also sleeved upon therod haslongitudinal movement only.

In practice it frequently occurs that the friction between thisintermediate element and the frictional elements with which itcooperates at the farther end of the gear, with reference to thedirection of application of stresses, is sufficient to prevent itsmovement during the earlier stages of the compressive action. 'Whilethis delayed movement of the intermediate member iS not of itselflobjectionable, but, on the contrary, results in a smoother action andmore gradual development of the frictional resistance, it places uponthe rod undesirable bending strains., As the rodis necessarilycarriedwith the two outer frictional element-s which are mounted upon it duringthis stage of the action, there is a tendency to bend the rod, held asitis, midway of its ends by the intermediate element, while beingstrained laterally by the outer elements.

The object of the present invention is to overcome this tendency to bendthe rod., while permitting independent longitudinal movement of thefrictional elements mounted upon. it. This object is attained. by, and

thevinvention consists in, providing one or more of suoli frictionalelements, and preferably the center one, with 'an elongated aperture forthe reception of the rod.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention,-

Figure 1 is a detail yplan view ofthe framing of a car and of the draftgear, being partly in section; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

There is shown at 10--10 a pair of center sills and at 11 an end sill.The coupler is shown at 12 and its rear extension or yoke at 13. A pairof keys or vbars 14, 15, extend through elongated slots of the centersills, and through the yoke 13 and constitute the followers .fortransmitting stresses from the draft gear to the sills. The gear propercomprises a pair of box shaped members, 16, 17, one associated with andslotted to iit upon each of the follower bars 14, 15; two pairs oftriangular wedge blocks 18,' 19 and 20, 21, each pair being seatedwithin one of `the boX shaped members and against a vertical transversewall thereof; a central wedging element 22 having its ends beveled tofit between and frictionally engage the v side of the car sills, thesesprings reacting between the two outer wedging elements 23,

24, and' abutments 28, 29, mounted upon the outer ends of therod.

As the coupler 12 is moved longitudinally in either di-rection, one ofthe follower bars 14, 15 travels with it, advancing the box likeelements 16, 17', against which it bears and with it one pair of thetriangular Wedging blocks, which, as they advance, move the outerwedging elements 23, 24, outwardly against the' resistance of thesprings 26, 27, also carrying them forwardly, sliding them upon thetriangular wedging blocks at the opposite ends of the gear. The rod 25is necessarily vcarried laterally by the longitudinal movement of thewedging elements 23,

ogm: of del' books ou@ 'eods 12o Slo-feud apar?, que

fue 1 ,nemoe of 1'? against seated.

In order to plof/ont the uppuou/Lon to the od Q5 of bending simios oymeson. of the moet lou gudna movement oi ho mem bei' 2li, the mambo? 229i elongate tho opeule 3G in zhe 'o'er 'member so thai;

rod. mo, move. ate'ray in either d'eotion lom Q cenefse position beforebeing oheo'iied in .1s movement by the memoo 22 shou. the atte romainstationary; and hefeby -the foci of any bending Stm'os to the aoplootonof atelo stares?, upon tsends with zess'auce nte' medio-te o1 the pointso" such application,

As heetoole oons'muoted and f1-s shown in my ea'fle paten'z, the rod'was called upon to ussst'n the longitudinal movement of the center-Wedgng element n pmotee it, nos beau 'found that the fod is unequal 'tofunoon in man3? y becomes bent, o. Jo opomtxon of the n central andlongltudnay oVfl relative longi- Suid sets of o rod against EoioalNoveno; Edy of Said elements.

2. A 11 @om oompusmg central and outer i'i l Moments both capable oflongtuduol novum/ent7 a rod extending 'u'ough such elements, and spngsmounted upon the rod und bearing against she outer etouol e'ements, 'theeoutml frictional elf ments bowing am elongated aperture for thel'eoepton of the rod, such rod fitting snugly in the ape'tures in bheouter frotonul ele- :coezobs u JAJMES R. CARDNELL.

tnesses i Rumi' Hummm,

FRANK SCHMITZ.

s` o rod extending al und the outer

